Nigeria loses $2.5 billion daily to gas flaring

[bananas]

http://www.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1546&Itemid=7:testset

Nigeria loses $2.5 billion daily to gas flaring
Written by Mohammed Shosanya, Lagos
Thursday, 25 December 2008

The much awaited December 31, 2008 for the elimination of gas flaring in the country is almost here.

<snip>

Nigeria is one of the countries with high incidence of gas flaring, with attendant revenue loss of $2.5 billion per day.

<snip>

Government efforts to curb the phenomenon was said to have begun as far back as 1969, when oil companies were given five years to phase out gas flaring.

<snip>

But as the deadline draws closer, it becomes crystal clear to the operators that the 2008 is not feasible as they needed more time to tidy up their gas projects in order to clear up the flares.

<snip>

[alofarabia]

1. This can't be right...

At $2.5B per day that would be just short of $1 trillion per year. I did a quick check on the google and found that the GDP of Nigeria is $191B (as of 2006). So that would mean that Nigeria is losing 5 times its entire GDP through the burning of excess gas in flare stacks (which would also mean that it's burning and not selling the vast majority of gas that it pumps). Maybe it's supposed to be $2.5B per year, not per day.

From wikiperia here is information on gas flaring: "On oil production rigs, in refineries and chemical plants, its primary purpose is to act as a safety device to protect vessels or pipes from over-pressuring due to unplanned upsets. This acts just like the spout on a tea kettle when it starts whistling as the water in it starts boiling. Whenever plant equipment items are over-pressured, the pressure relief valves on the equipment automatically releases gases (and sometimes liquids as well) which are routed through large piping runs called flare headers to the flare stacks. The released gases and/or liquids are burned as they exit the flare stacks."

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Too bad they can't get, or won't spend the effort to put one of

these gas to liquids rigs next to or on the rig itself... perhaps it isn't economically feasible.

www.rentechinc.com

Rentech's Product Demonstration Unit (PDU), located in Sand Creek, Colorado, is the only operating synthetic transportation fuels facility in the United States. The PDU is designed to produce approximately 10 barrels per day of ultra-clean diesel, aviation fuels, naphtha and specialty waxes and chemicals. The PDU will serve as a testing ground for feedstock such as natural gas, coal and biomass and as an end-to-end demonstration center for the production process of synthetic fuels.

[Citizen Number 9]

4. It's not correct.

Nigeria has been reducing flaring for some time now, more than 20% since 2005 and the reductions continue.

The $2.5 billion number is likely an annual figure, not daily as the article states numerous times.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I agree, it can't be right. The Soviets did this for decades. It's wasteful, but not THAT wasteful